Chapter 180: Journey to the Central Plains (1)

“Is it really necessary to send the Young Cult Leader to the Murim Alliance?”

At the mention of sending Cheon Yura to the Murim Alliance, Mujung tilted his head in confusion.

“More than anything, we just made that declaration a short while ago….”

Entry into the Central Plains.

Regardless of whatever other intentions they had, how would this declaration be perceived by the Central Murim?

“It’s precisely because of that situation that she has to go.”

The Cult Leader let out a faint chuckle as he propped his chin up with one arm.

“That way, they’ll stay on guard even more—and in turn, the Sword King will have more freedom.”

“But what if the Young Cult Leader causes an incident in the Murim Alliance…?”

It was a hypothetical, but there was conviction behind his words.

In truth, the odds of Cheon Yura causing trouble in the Murim Alliance were almost a certainty.

If even one of the younger generation from the Orthodox Faction picked a fight with her, unaware of who she was, it would be the end right then and there.

Cheon Taejong mumbled in a slightly weaker voice.

“…Which is why we’re sending along the youngest brother of the Jin Clan. If it’s him, he’ll do a fine job of restraining—no, assisting Yura.”

“You don’t sound very confident about that.”

“Silence, Left Guardian.”

“……”

The Cult Leader crushed his subordinate’s truth bomb with sheer authority.

“In any case, if we’re going to clean out the cult once more, it’s better to have Yura outside.”

“She could be exposed to that much more danger.”

Since it was an official diplomatic mission, an impressive escort would be assigned to Cheon Yura.

However, that didn’t mean she’d be safe from the enemy’s grasp.

“We’ll have to take that risk. Besides, I have my own thoughts on the matter.”

The Cult Leader’s resolve was already firm.

“If only Munyak hadn’t left the Protector Hall… he’d have been perfect to entrust with this.”

“Grand Protector will feel slighted.”

“That man is too inflexible. His rigidity is his downfall.”

While Grand Protector had undeniable skill and loyalty, he completely lacked adaptability.

If someone tried to provoke Cheon Yura, he wouldn’t just block it—he’d crush the offender’s skull regardless of their status.

The Cult Leader let out a quiet sigh.

“That damn So Munyak, does he still think we haven’t noticed?”

A rare smirk played at the corners of the Left Guardian’s mouth.

“He may believe himself flawless, but those of us who’ve watched from up close know better.”

Granted, that “up close” only extended to three people, but still.

“So, how’s the investigation into the Illusion Clan?”

“Out of the five spies we planted, four have gone dark. The remaining one as well…”

The Left Guardian’s eye, hidden beneath his mask, twitched slightly.

“We can’t rule out the possibility of disinformation.”

“Hmm…”

The Cult Leader pondered briefly, then dropped a thunderous question.

“Is it confirmed that Hwan Pyeong is dead?”

“We don’t know. Whether he was replaced midway or he was never who he said he was from the start—nothing is certain.”

“That brat Cheon Jumyeong was so full of confidence…”

Cheon Jumyeong of the Heavenly Thunder Corps, who had boldly declared—staking his own neck—that there were no more spies among the Elders.

If the current head of the Illusion Clan was truly a fake, then Cheon Jumyeong’s head might as well already be forfeit.

But, unusually, Mujung defended Cheon Jumyeong this time.

“If it was the latter case, he may have missed it. If there was no switch, there’d be no way to detect anything no matter what he did.”

“That’s true…”

The Cult Leader rubbed his forehead as if struck by a headache.

“But if that’s really the case, the entire Illusion Clan might vanish.”

He said it lightly, but the implications were heavy.

It meant that one of the Six Great Demonic Clans that had lasted over a thousand years might fall in this generation.

“We need to reach a conclusion as soon as possible. The damage to the cult must be minimized.”

“Understood.”

“Ah, come to think of it, where’s Yura?”

The daughter who was supposed to be with him had disappeared at some point.

“As soon as the grand conference ended, she rushed over to the House of Slaughter.”

Twitch!

“…How devoted.”

At that moment, Mujung felt a sense of ‘annoyance’ from his master.

Of course, he would never say it out loud.

***

I opened my eyes, feeling dazed.

The sun was setting, meaning quite a bit of time had passed.

‘What… did I pass out?’

Mental exhaustion from the continuous battles.

I distinctly remembered thinking I had to get to Gu Chil in the end, but it seemed I collapsed forward before I could take even a few steps.

‘But I clearly fell forward… so why am I lying on my back now?’

Moreover, I felt something soft beneath the back of my head, like a cushion.

It wasn’t indoors, and I was still outside—so this situation was clearly abnormal.

And this thing under my head… no matter how I thought about it, it felt like someone’s thighs…

“You’re awake?”

“Young Cult Leader?”

I hurried to raise my upper body, but the moment Cheon Yura’s fingers touched my forehead, I sank right back into place.

‘Huh?’

Without much resistance, my body was being effortlessly controlled.

“There were no major injuries, so I was relieved, but your energy is severely depleted. It’s best if you rest more.”

“Well, even so, this situation is a bit…”

A lap pillow. More than the fact that Cheon Yura was here, the situation itself was far more shocking.

“I said it’s fine.”

Cheon Yura firmly stopped me from moving.

‘What is this, a dream?’

I closed my eyes, feeling dumbfounded.

A cool breeze tickled my nose, something I hadn’t noticed until now.

“How did the assembly go?”

“It ended well. Just as you advised, the response was quite significant.”

“Well, of course. It’s the Central Plains expansion we’ve dreamed of our whole lives…”

Cheon Yura let out a sigh.

“I don’t understand why everyone’s so eager to spill blood first.”

For nearly a hundred years, the sphere of activity for the Heavenly Demon Cult had been confined—southward to Sichuan and westward to Shaanxi.

Sichuan had the physical barrier of the Jinryeong Mountain Range, so that was understandable.

But as for Shaanxi, which was practically the bridgehead into the Central Plains, the massive forces of Mount Hua and Zhongnan stood like towering curtains in the way.

‘Even during the peaceful era, we clashed with those two forces quite a bit…’

Just looking at the past masters of the Cheon Clan—most of their achievements were tales of slaughtering someone from the Mount Hua Sect or annihilating a master of the Zhongnan Sect.

And those were only sporadic clashes. If the Cult were to fully advance into the Central Plains…

A storm of blood would blow.

“It can’t be helped, can it? The doctrine of ‘the strong dominate’ has been upheld for over a thousand years.”

“……”

“Changing that doctrine is precisely our task.”

“‘Our’, huh.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Seeing the atmosphere soften a bit, I figured Cheon Yura understood what I meant.

Only after that moment of calm did I open my eyes wide and shout.

“Ah, I need to find Gu Chil!”

“If you mean that bald servant, there’s no need to worry.”

At Cheon Yura’s crisp reply, I blinked.

“R-really?”

“They say the poison in the body of the direct descendant of the Hidden Shadow So Clan was successfully removed by the servant of Hidden Shadow So Clan.”

I let out a breath of relief.

“That’s good to hear.”

“Mm…”

“……?”

Her words trailed off strangely, and I felt an odd sense of foreboding.

“There’s… something else?”

“Not exactly. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“Your other subordinate… was her name Myeong-oh? That woman and the direct descendant of the So Clan…”

Gulp.

“…were severely injured, it seems.”

“……”

A chill ran down my spine.

By Cheon Yura’s standards, what exactly did “severely” mean?

“Severely, you say?”

“Yes.”

“How badly?”

After a brief pause, Cheon Yura spoke.

“In the case of your subordinate, Myeong-oh, when the So Clan’s law enforcers found her, one of each of her limbs had been torn off.”

“……Excuse me?”

“She must’ve practiced some regenerative martial art, since they eventually reattached with time… but she’ll be living like a cripple for a while.”

What the hell…

“The So Clan’s direct descendant was in a similar state. Her limbs were intact, but her whole body was slashed to ribbons… and she apparently came close to losing the ability to bear children.”

“……”

It wasn’t even midsummer, yet cold sweat soaked my back.

‘That bastard So Cheon… what the hell did he do? I sent him to stop things from getting that bad!’

Of course, if So Cheon had heard that, he would’ve yelled, “Then you try stopping it, asshole!”

In any case, it was good news that Gu Chil had been rescued safely.

“…There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“About three months from now, I’ll be heading to Henan Province, where the Murim Alliance is located.”

Flinch!

“You mean…”

Cheon Yura turned her head slightly and muttered softly.

“You’ve been included in the diplomatic mission. They said to assist me well… and not cause any trouble.”

Ah, ah…

I could practically feel the Cult Leader’s agony all the way from here.

“However, you won’t be leaving with the delegation.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You and Baek Sang-ah will go to the Murim Alliance before the delegation sets out, to return the Jade Green Heavenly Net Divine Sword to the Murim Alliance Leader.”

Ugh… am I being worked too hard?

One big mission ends, and immediately there’s another.

Still, more importantly…

“Just me and Lady Baek?”

“…Yes.”

There’s no need for a large party for covert travel.

But still, is this going to be okay?

Maybe I should just treat this like a long vacation—a year-long journey to the Central Plains.

The only problem is…

That difficult issue I’d buried—or rather, postponed—until now.

‘How the hell am I going to explain this?’

The Jade Green Heavenly Net Divine Sword aside, what would the Murim Alliance Leader say when he found out his granddaughter had become a demonic cultivator?

And he’d probably know I had something to do with it.

“Young Cult Leader.”

“Mm?”

“The Southern Heavenly Sword King… he’s strong, right?”

“Of course. He’s the Sword King of the Central Five Kings. Among the so-called Three Supremes of Murim—Demonic Supreme, Buddhist Supreme, Daoist Supreme—he ranks just below them.”

“How does he compare to the Ten Thousand Calamities King, who’s also one of the Five Kings?”

“According to popular opinion, the Sword King is considered a half-step stronger.”

In short, I had to go throw myself at someone who stood at the very brink of the Flowering Realm… or perhaps had just stepped into the Profound Realm—a true supreme master.

“……”

“Your face looks pale. Is something bothering you?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Cheon Yura reached out herself and gently touched my forehead, checking for a fever.

But the luxury of such affection was completely drowned out by the gravity of the situation I was in.

‘I’m screwed.’

And if, by any chance, we ended up having to visit the main house of the Southern Baek Clan…

“Still, don’t worry too much. That Baek Sang-ah girl almost never reveals her martial skills. Even if something were to happen, there’s a way to handle it.”

“What is it?!”

“I’m thinking of passing down the Moon Maiden Sword to her.”

“The Moon Maiden Sword?!”

A sword art now practically extinct in the Central Plains—the Moon Maiden Sword and the Moonlight Sword Qi.

Especially since the key feature of the Moonlight Sword Qi was its ability to conceal the color of internal energy!

…Though it would probably be meaningless in front of the Sword King.

‘Wait a sec, I’m going on a trip with Baek Sang-ah, just the two of us… and she’s not even mad about it?’

Could it be that Cheon Yura had matured a bit?

Or maybe… that confession I made back then had some kind of effect?

Just then—

“However, since it’s too dangerous to send just you two, we agreed with the Cult Leader to assign a guard to accompany you.”

“A guard?”

“Yes. A martial artist who’s reached the Extreme Demonic Realm. There won’t be any external demonic qi exposure, so they should be quite helpful.”

“A master at the Extreme Demonic level… that’s incredibly generous.”

“We have to show at least this level of sincerity when sending someone to protect the Murim Alliance Leader’s granddaughter, don’t you think?”

…Cheon Yura was capable of being this thoughtful?

Still, if the escort was a master at the Extreme Demonic Realm… let’s think about the possible candidates. Could it be Grand Protector?

No, he had to stay and assist Cheon Yura, so that was unlikely.

Then it must be someone within the Cheon Clan who isn’t part of the official ranks.

“Who is it? Is it someone trustworthy?”

Given how highly confidential Baek Sang-ah’s identity was, even an Extreme Demonic master couldn’t be trusted lightly.

“Of course. More than anyone, I trust this person. I guarantee it on my name.”

“Hmm!”

If Cheon Yura vouched for them so strongly…

“Understood. Once I return to the main house, I’ll start preparing immediately.”

Ughh!

I rubbed my forehead, which still throbbed with a persistent headache, and sat up.

“Heading to the Central Plains is one thing… but first, there’s something I must report.”

“What is it?”

I looked at Cheon Yura with a solemn expression.

“It’s about the Illusion Clan.”

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